The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) pointed to a lack of funds and staff in response to complaints about poor maintenance at Primrose Cemetery.

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GCN previously reported that Charmaine Terblanche voiced her grievances regarding the cemetery.

Terblanche raised her concerns after she visited the cemetery on January 23 as part of her usual routine visits to her granddaughter’s grave every Sunday after church.

“Overgrown grass and weeds make it difficult to walk to our granddaughter’s grave.”

Hilary Engelsman, a Bedfordview resident, told GCN that she was devastated by the state in which she found the cemetery.

She visited the cemetery to put the ashes of her late stepfather next to her family graves.

“We come here to pay respect and we can’t find the graves. The area is overgrown with trees,” she said.

“We have arranged to get the graves cleaned, which will be a cost from our own pockets. This is the resting place of my grandparents and my mother.

“The council must engage and get the security to look after these graves and get the grass and trees cut,” said Engelsman.

City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said that cemeteries are maintained by contractors yet there is a shortage of staff and funds.

He said the internal teams responsible for burial services and functions that come with it, will be used to maintain the cemetery, however, there will be only one cycle of grass cutting in February.